Burns, convicted in notorious Bellevue murder, wins one

Sebastian Burns, convicted of murder in 2004 along with childhood friend Atif Rafay, gets a chance to argue that he should represent himself during appeals, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

Burns and Rafay were convicted of three counts of aggravated first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in the 1994 beating deaths of Rafay’s parents and sister in their Bellevue home.

Burns wants to represent himself on appeals and allow his attorney to withdraw. The Court of Appeals refused.

The Supreme Court ruled that Burns has a right to represent himself, though that right is not absolute. It ordered the Court of Appeals to consider the matter again and explain its refusal.

“Because the Court of Appeals was completely silent as to the reasons for denying Burns’ motion, we cannot say whether it rested its decision on facts supported by the record,” the Supreme Court said in its unanimous decision.